Patrick Daugherty

Football Daily Dose

Merry Christmas

For all intents and purposes, another fantasy football season has come and gone.

Perhaps you are in one of the odd few leagues that soldiers on beyond Week 16, or odder still, through the Super Bowl. But by and large, all the titles have been won, all the bubbles burst.

It was an unusual season. The waiver wire surprises seemed fewer and farther between than they have in years past. For every Cecil Shorts and Knowshon Moreno, there was a Jonathan Dwyer and Kevin Ogletree. Would-be free-agent darlings who could never quite bring home the bacon.

But even an unusual fantasy season is a great fantasy season, and at Rotoworld, it’s all because of you, our readers. Consider this our thank you for everything you do to make the site great, and our apology for Ryan Mathews (though we still stand behind our logic on that one).

Merry Christmas, happy new year and all the garbage time touchdowns one could ever dream of.

Being an Oakland Raider hasn’t been a whole lot of fun this season. The only thing less common than touchdowns have been wins. So we’re assuming being a Raider is even less fun if you’re dealing with multiple “cracked” ribs and a bruised lung.

But that’s how Carson Palmer is celebrating Christmas. He won’t suit up for Sunday’s finale against the Chargers, and it’s quite possible he’ll never don the Silver and Black again. That’s because he’s due a non-guaranteed $13 million in 2013, which would be a gargantuan sum for a team that’s light years away from being competitive.

Perhaps GM Reggie McKenzie will be compelled to try and save face on what should go down as one of the worst trades in NFL history, and get another year out of his 33-year-old signal caller. But nostalgia for the Al Davis era hasn’t exactly been McKenzie’s M.O.

Palmer is a shell of his former self, and really hasn’t ever been the same since Kimo von Oelhoffen blew out his knee in the 2005-06 postseason. But in a league where as many as 9-10 teams could be looking for new quarterbacks this offseason, he’s very much still worthy of a starting job.

Palmer is 16th in the league in QB rating (85.3), eighth in yards (4,018), 16th in YPA (7.11) and 17th in completion percentage (61.1). Decent enough numbers, but not ones that will go far for a rebuilding team, and the Raiders’ rebuild is looking like it’s going to be as thorough as any ever undertaken in the NFL.

We’d expect Palmer to be back for a 10th season in 2013, we just don’t expect it to be in Oakland.

Andy and Mike

It simply had to be. The long, strange trip that’s been the Andy Reid era in Philadelphia was never destined to end in a graceful nod to the future, but a bizarre rumination on his final few — flawed — years in the City of Brotherly Love.

That’s why there’s a bit of twisted in poetry in promising rookie Nick Foles missing Sunday’s game with a hairline fracture in his throwing hand — an injury that’s expected to sideline him only three weeks — and paving the way for Michael Vick to start what will likely be both his and Reid’s last night in town.

Reid is a great coach — one of the best of his generation — while Vick is a great quarterback, one of the most unique of all time. But there’s no question the time has come for both to move on from Philly. Both will get new jobs. Reid has already vowed to keep coaching. Vick, to continue starting.

If there’s a football god, maybe they'll get a parting gift from what’s been a miserable year in the form of a win over the Giants.

Short-Changed

As mentioned in the lead, Cecil Shorts is one of the great stories of the 2012 season. Unfortunately, the exciting first chapter of his NFL book has a bitter ending.

Shorts was placed on injured reserve Monday after suffering his second concussion in four weeks. It’s scary news for a player who is only 25 years old and will be tasked with making a career out of holding onto the ball in the face of big hits.

But the good news is, Shorts now has the entire offseason to get healthy, and won’t be forced to rush back the way he would have had his injury occurred in Week 8 instead of Week 16.

When Shorts returns in 2013, it will be on the back of a campaign that saw him average a weekly 5.4 catches for 86 yards after joining the starting lineup in Week 7. The ending to his 2012 may have been dark, but Shorts’ future remains bright.

Quarterback/Pass Catcher/Etc. Stocking Stuffers:Heath Miller completely shredded his knee in Sunday’s devastating loss, and will be doubtful for Week 1 next season. One of the toughest players in the game, Miller has missed just four contests in eight years. … Mario Manningham tore his ACL in Sunday's loss. The 49ers are now perilously thin at wideout. … The Bengals plan to try in Week 17. … Richard Sherman’s appeal ruling is next scheduled to be delayed on Thursday. … Mohamed Massaquoi’s latest injury-plagued campaign ends with the 26-year-old receiver on injured reserve with a knee issue. He’s likely played his final snap in Cleveland. … Massaquoi’s teammate Brandon Weeden (shoulder) has yet to be ruled out for Week 17, but that should happen within the next 48 hours. … Scott Chandler’s ACL is torn. The grinding tight end will likely begin 2013 on the PUP list. … Rob Housler (shoulder) won’t play Sunday. … Mike Wallace has a strained hip. … GM Mike Tannenbaum and OC Tony Sparano are both likely out in New York.

Running Back Stocking Stuffers:Trent Richardson (ankle) has yet to be ruled out for Week 17, but coach Pat Shurmur would only allow that his ankle isn’t broken, and that the Browns "haven't finished up the evaluation." T-Rich’s injury-marred rookie season is unlikely to be extended another week. … Beanie Wells realizes he was so bad this season he’s unlikely to be invited back to Arizona. … Maurice Jones-Drew (foot) is "pretty questionable" for Sunday's finale. He’s not playing. … MJD’s teammate Rashad Jennings, meanwhile, was sent to injured reserve with a shoulder injury. … Nearly as ineffective as Wells this season, Jennings is unlikely to be back with the Jaguars in 2013. … According to Arian Foster, "everything is back to normal” with his irregular heartbeat.

For all intents and purposes, another fantasy football season has come and gone.

Perhaps you are in one of the odd few leagues that soldiers on beyond Week 16, or odder still, through the Super Bowl. But by and large, all the titles have been won, all the bubbles burst.

It was an unusual season. The waiver wire surprises seemed fewer and farther between than they have in years past. For every Cecil Shorts and Knowshon Moreno, there was a Jonathan Dwyer and Kevin Ogletree. Would-be free-agent darlings who could never quite bring home the bacon.

But even an unusual fantasy season is a great fantasy season, and at Rotoworld, it’s all because of you, our readers. Consider this our thank you for everything you do to make the site great, and our apology for Ryan Mathews (though we still stand behind our logic on that one).

Merry Christmas, happy new year and all the garbage time touchdowns one could ever dream of.

Being an Oakland Raider hasn’t been a whole lot of fun this season. The only thing less common than touchdowns have been wins. So we’re assuming being a Raider is even less fun if you’re dealing with multiple “cracked” ribs and a bruised lung.

But that’s how Carson Palmer is celebrating Christmas. He won’t suit up for Sunday’s finale against the Chargers, and it’s quite possible he’ll never don the Silver and Black again. That’s because he’s due a non-guaranteed $13 million in 2013, which would be a gargantuan sum for a team that’s light years away from being competitive.

Perhaps GM Reggie McKenzie will be compelled to try and save face on what should go down as one of the worst trades in NFL history, and get another year out of his 33-year-old signal caller. But nostalgia for the Al Davis era hasn’t exactly been McKenzie’s M.O.

Palmer is a shell of his former self, and really hasn’t ever been the same since Kimo von Oelhoffen blew out his knee in the 2005-06 postseason. But in a league where as many as 9-10 teams could be looking for new quarterbacks this offseason, he’s very much still worthy of a starting job.

Palmer is 16th in the league in QB rating (85.3), eighth in yards (4,018), 16th in YPA (7.11) and 17th in completion percentage (61.1). Decent enough numbers, but not ones that will go far for a rebuilding team, and the Raiders’ rebuild is looking like it’s going to be as thorough as any ever undertaken in the NFL.

We’d expect Palmer to be back for a 10th season in 2013, we just don’t expect it to be in Oakland.

Andy and Mike

It simply had to be. The long, strange trip that’s been the Andy Reid era in Philadelphia was never destined to end in a graceful nod to the future, but a bizarre rumination on his final few — flawed — years in the City of Brotherly Love.

That’s why there’s a bit of twisted in poetry in promising rookie Nick Foles missing Sunday’s game with a hairline fracture in his throwing hand — an injury that’s expected to sideline him only three weeks — and paving the way for Michael Vick to start what will likely be both his and Reid’s last night in town.

Reid is a great coach — one of the best of his generation — while Vick is a great quarterback, one of the most unique of all time. But there’s no question the time has come for both to move on from Philly. Both will get new jobs. Reid has already vowed to keep coaching. Vick, to continue starting.

If there’s a football god, maybe they'll get a parting gift from what’s been a miserable year in the form of a win over the Giants.

Short-Changed

As mentioned in the lead, Cecil Shorts is one of the great stories of the 2012 season. Unfortunately, the exciting first chapter of his NFL book has a bitter ending.

Shorts was placed on injured reserve Monday after suffering his second concussion in four weeks. It’s scary news for a player who is only 25 years old and will be tasked with making a career out of holding onto the ball in the face of big hits.

But the good news is, Shorts now has the entire offseason to get healthy, and won’t be forced to rush back the way he would have had his injury occurred in Week 8 instead of Week 16.

When Shorts returns in 2013, it will be on the back of a campaign that saw him average a weekly 5.4 catches for 86 yards after joining the starting lineup in Week 7. The ending to his 2012 may have been dark, but Shorts’ future remains bright.

Quarterback/Pass Catcher/Etc. Stocking Stuffers:Heath Miller completely shredded his knee in Sunday’s devastating loss, and will be doubtful for Week 1 next season. One of the toughest players in the game, Miller has missed just four contests in eight years. … Mario Manningham tore his ACL in Sunday's loss. The 49ers are now perilously thin at wideout. … The Bengals plan to try in Week 17. … Richard Sherman’s appeal ruling is next scheduled to be delayed on Thursday. … Mohamed Massaquoi’s latest injury-plagued campaign ends with the 26-year-old receiver on injured reserve with a knee issue. He’s likely played his final snap in Cleveland. … Massaquoi’s teammate Brandon Weeden (shoulder) has yet to be ruled out for Week 17, but that should happen within the next 48 hours. … Scott Chandler’s ACL is torn. The grinding tight end will likely begin 2013 on the PUP list. … Rob Housler (shoulder) won’t play Sunday. … Mike Wallace has a strained hip. … GM Mike Tannenbaum and OC Tony Sparano are both likely out in New York.

Running Back Stocking Stuffers:Trent Richardson (ankle) has yet to be ruled out for Week 17, but coach Pat Shurmur would only allow that his ankle isn’t broken, and that the Browns "haven't finished up the evaluation." T-Rich’s injury-marred rookie season is unlikely to be extended another week. … Beanie Wells realizes he was so bad this season he’s unlikely to be invited back to Arizona. … Maurice Jones-Drew (foot) is "pretty questionable" for Sunday's finale. He’s not playing. … MJD’s teammate Rashad Jennings, meanwhile, was sent to injured reserve with a shoulder injury. … Nearly as ineffective as Wells this season, Jennings is unlikely to be back with the Jaguars in 2013. … According to Arian Foster, "everything is back to normal” with his irregular heartbeat.